As technology advances, it tends to shrink. From cell phones to laptops—powered by increasingly faster and tinier processors—everything is getting thinner and sleeker. And now light beams are getting smaller, too.
Engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a device that can focus light into a point just a few nanometers (billionths of a meter) across—an achievement they say may lead to next-generation applications in computing, communications, and imaging.

While NASA is placed on the back burner due to U.S. President Barack Obama 's plan to cut the agency's planetary science funding , its private counterpart SpaceX has been green-lit to return to space.
The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)-class missions to the company: DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) and STP-2 (Space Test Program 2).

December 10, 2012 4:42 am |
by Amazon has lowered the price of its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD by $50 in a special one-day deal. |
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The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD sports a 1920x1200 resolution screen, a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, a front facing HD camera and 16 or 32GB of storage memory. The standard price for the 16GB variant is $299.
Though the deal is valid only today, it might end before the end of the day, as Amazon warns that quantities are limited.

Users of free cloud-storage providers, such as Dropbox , Google Drive and Apple iCloud , are often faced with file-size limitations and lack of privacy. What's more, upgrades typically require recurring fees.
One Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is offering an alternative way to share, access and protect files.

By Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor
A few weeks ago, I came across an article on Slate talking about a school in Texas that had put RFID tags [ http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/10/11/rfid_tracking_texas_schools_force_kids_to_wear_electronic_chips.html ] in the student ID cards that everyone has to wear.

Remember TechLaunch ? We introduced you to them back in April as New Jersey’s technology accelerator, turning innovative ideas into successful enterprises through an intense 12-week LaunchPad program. They're aspirations: to support technology entrepreneurs - and they've done just that. Take a look at their clips from Demo Day presentations and interviews.

For space scientists dreaming up a manned base on the moon, 3D printing with lunar dust looms as an attractive possibility. Such on-demand fabrication would allow astronauts to repair broken parts, manufacture spare ones and maybe even build structures, all out of the dirt scooped from under their boots.

For the first time, a silicon-based optical fiber with solar-cell capabilities has been developed that has been shown to be scalable to many meters in length. The research opens the door to the possibility of weaving together solar-cell silicon wires to create flexible, curved, or twisted solar fabrics.

Coco Rocha has come a long way since she was spotted by a modeling scout at an Irish dancing competition. Since then, she's become a fixture on the fashion scene -- appearing on the runways for Marc Jacobs, Versace, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Anna Sui, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel and Balenciaga.
More recently, though, she's become a fixture on the social media scene, positioning herself as one of the most digitally-savvy models of her generation.

Like a small safe in your pocket or purse, Zippo's wallet encased in stainless steel prevents RFID-using criminals from swiping your credit card information.
The new Zippo wallet 's stainless steel outer shell not only gives the wallet a sleek look but also blocks radio frequency identification with its RF shield.

Good news for anyone prone to losing the TV remote.
A group of developers created a series of Bluetooth-powered stickers that track down the objects you're most likely to misplace. The StickNFind stickers are about the size of a U.S. quarter and sync with a smartphone app. They have a range of about 100 feet and a battery life that reportedly lasts almost a year.

What if we told you that you could spend $81 on an edible iPhone 5 case?
The Survival Senbai Rice Cracker iPhone 5 Case is exactly that. The phone cover is made from brown rice and salt -- think of it as a rice cake designed to fit snugly around your phone.
If you're wondering who would dish out four Andrew Jacksons for an iPhone case that won't last until the next major Apple product launch, get a load of this: The case, made by Mariko and sold in the Japan Trend Shop, has already sold out.

Google Now unveiled its latest update Wednesday, introducing instant access to your boarding pass and other travel-friendly features.
The intelligent personal assistant for devices running Android 4.1 ( Jelly Bean ) or higher will now pull up a user's boarding pass at the airport automatically, helping reduce travel time through the gate.

The “ Global Campaign To Stop Killer Robots ” kicked off in New York on Oct. 21. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams urged the nations of the world to act against lethal autonomous robots, declaring them “beyond the pale.” Williams is not alone; on CNN earlier in October, Peter Bergen, the author of several best-selling books about Osama Bin Laden, also argued for a convention regulating lethal robots .

Garmin International announced that Northrop Grumman Corporation has selected Garmin to supply the avionics suite for the new Firebird, an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The Firebird is equipped with a tailored version of Garmin's latest touchscreen-controlled integrated flight deck system, leveraging the expandable and scalable attributes of Garmin's commercial avionics technology to yield a highly capable Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) solution.